When she finally awoke, it was only about two hours later and she found herself lying in her bed with a blanket covering her slightly. She was still wearing the dress she wore to dinner and her hair was still intact. She sat up and pulled out all of the things she had in her hair until it fell out of the twist it was in. it fell past her shoulders and she passed her brush through it a few times until it untangled a little. She pulled the shoes off of her feet and tossed them to the floor at the foot of the bed before swinging her legs around out of the bed and she stood up. She walked to the closed door and opened it. Ed was sitting on the floor in front of the table playing at her computer and Spike and Jet were sitting at the table with their backs to the rest of the living area talking with someone. She wanted something to drink so she walked over to where the fridge was. She figured that the two guys were talking with a friend of theirs who had inside information on a lot of bounties, so she just wandered over into the kitchen to the little refrigerator.
"Well its good to see the lady up and around." someone said. She whirled around slowly with a yawn to make eye contact with Blade. She dropped the bottle of water when she realized it was him.
"Blade! What are you doing here? Didn't you say you had a photo shot after dinner?" she asked as the bottle bounced before rolling to a wall.
"It's good to see you too." He said with a smile. For a second, he actually looked like his old self. She bent down and picked up the bottle. "After you left, I called the people up and rescheduled the shoot. Then I got our dinners boxed up and came here."
"Oh, okay." She said as she cracked open the bottle and took a few sips.
"Yea, he actually hasn't been here very long. He was telling us about the syndicate." Jet said.
"There's nothing to really tell actually." Blade grinned as he glanced over at Alex, who was still standing over against the wall. "You know, you can sit down." He said as his tone began to warm. She screwed the cap back onto the bottle and started walking towards her bedroom.
"Actually, I think I'm going to get changed first. I'll be right back." she said as she got to her room and shut the door. What the hell was he doing on the ship?! Something was going on and she couldn't quite figure it out. She quickly changed into a pair of her hakama pants (black of course) and a white t-shirt. Just before she left the room, she quickly twisted her hair up and clipped it and then pulled her red kimono on. she walked back out to the living area with her water bottle and past the table towards the corridor that led to the ship's bridge.
"Hey chickie, where you going?" She heard Spike ask her. She looked over to him.
"Oh, just up to the bridge." She said as she continued to walk out into the corridor towards her destination. Her bare feet made light thuds as she walked, but as she reached the door, they grew silent. The door slid open before her and allowed her in, but then shut behind her. She climbed into the pilot's seat and pulled the computer towards her. The screen came up and she began to play solitaire. The radio played as she sat there playing her computerized card game, alone in the quiet room. A few minutes passed before she heard the sound of the door sliding open and then shut and heavy footsteps on the floor.
"What's up, you seem out of it." Blade asked. Alex pulled the clip out of her hair as it fell past her shoulders again and she tossed it into a nearby seat.
"It's nothing." She said as she ran her fingers through her hair.
"Really? If it's nothing, why are you tapping your fingers like that?" he pointed to her hand that resting on her knee and drumming anxiously.
"I don't know. It's really nothing." She said as she stopped her fingers and sat on her hand.
"You always drummed your fingers like that whenever you were worried or something was wrong." He said as he ran his fingers through her hair. She was really nervous now.
"Well, people change their habits, you should know all about that." She said becoming annoyed.
"What do you mean? What are you trying to get at Alex?" he asked becoming aware of her bad mood. He walked around to face her. She was practically scowling at the computer screen.
"I'm just saying, you should know all about how people can change their personality since you went from such a nice person to the head of a crime syndicate. But wait, you have to marry me or else you have to kill me so I guess that won't be so hard…or will it?" she shot angrily.
"Alex, quit it. You don't know what you're talking about." He said nervously. He knew that she knew about the rule of having relationships within the syndicate.
"Oh yes I do and I don't appreciate it. I can't believe that after everything Jet told you the last time you were here didn't have any effect on you! Why did you do it Blade?" she asked as she began to yell at him. His eyes grew narrow and cold.
"Because I wanted the life of someone who everyone was afraid of! I hated being the model that everyone swooned over because I was just so goddamn gorgeous; I felt like I was a caged animal that was forced to perform and be presented before everyone all the time. Yes, I still do some modeling work, but very little because it's just so frustrating when people are telling you to look two different ways at once and then expect you to be alright with certain poses. This is the life I want to lead, this is the life my father wanted me to lead!" he snapped. Alex was surprised with his comments. His face had grown full of anger and vexation, painful for Alex to look at. With their eyes locked, hers began to glaze over with tears and for the first time in her life, she was absolutely terrified of her best friend. He was breathing heavily after just yelling at her, and it was when he was catching his breath, he realized what he had done. As the tears slipped slowly down her cheeks, he began to shake. "Alex…I…" he began before she suddenly stood from her chair and walked to the glass dome that revealed the wide-open ocean before the ship. She stood in front of it, her back facing Blade, with her arms crossed and sniffling, trying to hold back her tears unsuccessfully.
"I don't understand. Why?" she said, just above a whisper still with tears rolling down her face. He didn't bother walking any closer to her, he didn't want to.
"I…I don't know." He said shamefully with his eyes locked onto the floor. The sound of her sobs made him want to start crying too.
"I just…I don't understand what possessed such a sweet person like you to just up and become someone so cruel and harsh. It's just not like you." She said as she turned her head to her left as far as it'd go to look back at him without having to rotate the rest of her body. His hands were buried deep in his pockets and his eyes to the floor.
"Maybe it was my father's influence. The men just came up to me one night after a shoot and made it sound so absolutely wonderful to be the head of the syndicate. I leapt at the chance. I didn't know what I was getting into." He said as he pulled his right hand from his pocket and held it to his cheek.
"Blade, don't feel so bad about yourself." She said as she turned her whole body to look at him.
"No, I should've listened to Jet. He warned me about what would happen and I went and did it anyway." He said as he scolded himself. With her arms still crossed, she slowly walked over to him. The sound of her feet padding towards him forced him to look up at her. Her face was still damp with tears, but she was smiling. She saw the corners of his eyes glistening with tears, realizing he knew he was sorry for what he had done. She walked right into him and wrapped her arms around him, holding him close.
"It's alright. I forgive you. Bad judgment isn't always easy to overcome." She said as her tears ran into his coat.
"But it's easier if you have someone with you to help." He whispered into her ear as he kissed the side of her neck.
"Blade…" she whispered in protest. He nipped at her earlobes and pulled her closer to him. He kissed his way down to her breastbone, just above the neckline of her tank top. "Blade…" she protested once again but was silenced by his index finger to her lips.
"Shhh. Don't worry about anything." He said just as he crushed his lips into hers. He took her breath away and she was too confused to do anything. What about Spike? Why not Blade? She didn't know whether to stop or continue, so she just stood there and let him take her over. His hands eased her kimono off of her shoulders as it slid to the floor. She brought her arms up around his neck and pulled herself up on her toes to get closer to him. As their tongues wrestled in their mouths, his hands found their way to the bottom of her shirt. He slowly slipped them underneath and up her torso to her round, full breasts. As his hands massaged them, Alex grew more nervous. Blade was her best friend, but he wanted more. Spike was her first true love. Was lust temporarily clouding her judgment? She knew her answer was 'yes' when he began to pinch her erect nipples. The wonderful sensation washed over her body and made her love him even more. What was going on?
"Oh Blade, I…" she uttered between his kisses as he began to pull himself away from her lips. He pulled his hands back down from her breasts and then lifted her shirt, just enough to expose her bare chest to him. He pushed her into the pilot's seat and then fell to his knees in front of her
"Just relax." He said as he kissed her again and resumed massaging her breasts. He then lightly kissed his way, down along her jaw line and then down her neck. Alex wrapped her fingers around his silver silken hair as he gradually made it down her breastbone and then stopped. Suddenly, she felt his tongue on her left nipple. Her body was reeling with pleasurable feelings as he began to bite down on the erect teat lightly. Her back arched and her breathing became heavier. He then left her breasts and made his way further down her body, past the bottom of her rib cage and to her navel. She grew increasingly nervous as he continued past her belly button towards the top of her hakamas. He began to tug at the first button and she couldn't take it anymore.
"Blade, no." she said shifting around nervously. He looked up at her worried face.
"It'll be alright. I love you." He said calmly and reassuringly. He got the button undone and the zipper down, but as he tugged the pants away, she shifted again. She was shaking badly; she didn't want this. She wanted to be with Spike, not Blade. "Alex, calm down. I wouldn't hurt you." He reassured once again. His hands squeezed her breasts once more and then trailed down her body to her black thong. As his fingers slipped around the waistband, she shifted once more.
"Blade, knock it off," she practically yelled as the door opened with a quiet whoosh just as she said the 'knock it off' part. His fingers pulled slowly, paying no attention to the sound of the door. "Stop!" She said as she twisted her legs to hide herself from him.
"Alex, what the hell?" he asked as he wrapped his hands around her leg. "I thought you loved me! Don't you want this?"
"I'm sorry Blade. I do want this," she began as he looked at her like a confused little kid, "but not with you." She stood up and re-buttoned her pants. She turned and picked up her kimono when her eyes caught sight of a figure in the doorway.
"What was going on in here?" Spike asked not only confused, but frustrated at what he had just witnessed.
"Well its good to see the lady up and around." someone said. She whirled around slowly with a yawn to make eye contact with Blade. She dropped the bottle of water when she realized it was him.
"Blade! What are you doing here? Didn't you say you had a photo shot after dinner?" she asked as the bottle bounced before rolling to a wall.
"It's good to see you too." He said with a smile. For a second, he actually looked like his old self. She bent down and picked up the bottle. "After you left, I called the people up and rescheduled the shoot. Then I got our dinners boxed up and came here."
"Oh, okay." She said as she cracked open the bottle and took a few sips.
"Yea, he actually hasn't been here very long. He was telling us about the syndicate." Jet said.
"There's nothing to really tell actually." Blade grinned as he glanced over at Alex, who was still standing over against the wall. "You know, you can sit down." He said as his tone began to warm. She screwed the cap back onto the bottle and started walking towards her bedroom.
"Actually, I think I'm going to get changed first. I'll be right back." she said as she got to her room and shut the door. What the hell was he doing on the ship?! Something was going on and she couldn't quite figure it out. She quickly changed into a pair of her hakama pants (black of course) and a white t-shirt. Just before she left the room, she quickly twisted her hair up and clipped it and then pulled her red kimono on. she walked back out to the living area with her water bottle and past the table towards the corridor that led to the ship's bridge.
"Hey chickie, where you going?" She heard Spike ask her. She looked over to him.
"Oh, just up to the bridge." She said as she continued to walk out into the corridor towards her destination. Her bare feet made light thuds as she walked, but as she reached the door, they grew silent. The door slid open before her and allowed her in, but then shut behind her. She climbed into the pilot's seat and pulled the computer towards her. The screen came up and she began to play solitaire. The radio played as she sat there playing her computerized card game, alone in the quiet room. A few minutes passed before she heard the sound of the door sliding open and then shut and heavy footsteps on the floor.
"What's up, you seem out of it." Blade asked. Alex pulled the clip out of her hair as it fell past her shoulders again and she tossed it into a nearby seat.
"It's nothing." She said as she ran her fingers through her hair.
"Really? If it's nothing, why are you tapping your fingers like that?" he pointed to her hand that resting on her knee and drumming anxiously.
"I don't know. It's really nothing." She said as she stopped her fingers and sat on her hand.
"You always drummed your fingers like that whenever you were worried or something was wrong." He said as he ran his fingers through her hair. She was really nervous now.
"Well, people change their habits, you should know all about that." She said becoming annoyed.
"What do you mean? What are you trying to get at Alex?" he asked becoming aware of her bad mood. He walked around to face her. She was practically scowling at the computer screen.
"I'm just saying, you should know all about how people can change their personality since you went from such a nice person to the head of a crime syndicate. But wait, you have to marry me or else you have to kill me so I guess that won't be so hard…or will it?" she shot angrily.
"Alex, quit it. You don't know what you're talking about." He said nervously. He knew that she knew about the rule of having relationships within the syndicate.
"Oh yes I do and I don't appreciate it. I can't believe that after everything Jet told you the last time you were here didn't have any effect on you! Why did you do it Blade?" she asked as she began to yell at him. His eyes grew narrow and cold.
"Because I wanted the life of someone who everyone was afraid of! I hated being the model that everyone swooned over because I was just so goddamn gorgeous; I felt like I was a caged animal that was forced to perform and be presented before everyone all the time. Yes, I still do some modeling work, but very little because it's just so frustrating when people are telling you to look two different ways at once and then expect you to be alright with certain poses. This is the life I want to lead, this is the life my father wanted me to lead!" he snapped. Alex was surprised with his comments. His face had grown full of anger and vexation, painful for Alex to look at. With their eyes locked, hers began to glaze over with tears and for the first time in her life, she was absolutely terrified of her best friend. He was breathing heavily after just yelling at her, and it was when he was catching his breath, he realized what he had done. As the tears slipped slowly down her cheeks, he began to shake. "Alex…I…" he began before she suddenly stood from her chair and walked to the glass dome that revealed the wide-open ocean before the ship. She stood in front of it, her back facing Blade, with her arms crossed and sniffling, trying to hold back her tears unsuccessfully.
"I don't understand. Why?" she said, just above a whisper still with tears rolling down her face. He didn't bother walking any closer to her, he didn't want to.
"I…I don't know." He said shamefully with his eyes locked onto the floor. The sound of her sobs made him want to start crying too.
"I just…I don't understand what possessed such a sweet person like you to just up and become someone so cruel and harsh. It's just not like you." She said as she turned her head to her left as far as it'd go to look back at him without having to rotate the rest of her body. His hands were buried deep in his pockets and his eyes to the floor.
"Maybe it was my father's influence. The men just came up to me one night after a shoot and made it sound so absolutely wonderful to be the head of the syndicate. I leapt at the chance. I didn't know what I was getting into." He said as he pulled his right hand from his pocket and held it to his cheek.
"Blade, don't feel so bad about yourself." She said as she turned her whole body to look at him.
"No, I should've listened to Jet. He warned me about what would happen and I went and did it anyway." He said as he scolded himself. With her arms still crossed, she slowly walked over to him. The sound of her feet padding towards him forced him to look up at her. Her face was still damp with tears, but she was smiling. She saw the corners of his eyes glistening with tears, realizing he knew he was sorry for what he had done. She walked right into him and wrapped her arms around him, holding him close.
"It's alright. I forgive you. Bad judgment isn't always easy to overcome." She said as her tears ran into his coat.
"But it's easier if you have someone with you to help." He whispered into her ear as he kissed the side of her neck.
"Blade…" she whispered in protest. He nipped at her earlobes and pulled her closer to him. He kissed his way down to her breastbone, just above the neckline of her tank top. "Blade…" she protested once again but was silenced by his index finger to her lips.
"Shhh. Don't worry about anything." He said just as he crushed his lips into hers. He took her breath away and she was too confused to do anything. What about Spike? Why not Blade? She didn't know whether to stop or continue, so she just stood there and let him take her over. His hands eased her kimono off of her shoulders as it slid to the floor. She brought her arms up around his neck and pulled herself up on her toes to get closer to him. As their tongues wrestled in their mouths, his hands found their way to the bottom of her shirt. He slowly slipped them underneath and up her torso to her round, full breasts. As his hands massaged them, Alex grew more nervous. Blade was her best friend, but he wanted more. Spike was her first true love. Was lust temporarily clouding her judgment? She knew her answer was 'yes' when he began to pinch her erect nipples. The wonderful sensation washed over her body and made her love him even more. What was going on?
"Oh Blade, I…" she uttered between his kisses as he began to pull himself away from her lips. He pulled his hands back down from her breasts and then lifted her shirt, just enough to expose her bare chest to him. He pushed her into the pilot's seat and then fell to his knees in front of her
"Just relax." He said as he kissed her again and resumed massaging her breasts. He then lightly kissed his way, down along her jaw line and then down her neck. Alex wrapped her fingers around his silver silken hair as he gradually made it down her breastbone and then stopped. Suddenly, she felt his tongue on her left nipple. Her body was reeling with pleasurable feelings as he began to bite down on the erect teat lightly. Her back arched and her breathing became heavier. He then left her breasts and made his way further down her body, past the bottom of her rib cage and to her navel. She grew increasingly nervous as he continued past her belly button towards the top of her hakamas. He began to tug at the first button and she couldn't take it anymore.
"Blade, no." she said shifting around nervously. He looked up at her worried face.
"It'll be alright. I love you." He said calmly and reassuringly. He got the button undone and the zipper down, but as he tugged the pants away, she shifted again. She was shaking badly; she didn't want this. She wanted to be with Spike, not Blade. "Alex, calm down. I wouldn't hurt you." He reassured once again. His hands squeezed her breasts once more and then trailed down her body to her black thong. As his fingers slipped around the waistband, she shifted once more.
"Blade, knock it off," she practically yelled as the door opened with a quiet whoosh just as she said the 'knock it off' part. His fingers pulled slowly, paying no attention to the sound of the door. "Stop!" She said as she twisted her legs to hide herself from him.
"Alex, what the hell?" he asked as he wrapped his hands around her leg. "I thought you loved me! Don't you want this?"
"I'm sorry Blade. I do want this," she began as he looked at her like a confused little kid, "but not with you." She stood up and re-buttoned her pants. She turned and picked up her kimono when her eyes caught sight of a figure in the doorway.
"What was going on in here?" Spike asked not only confused, but frustrated at what he had just witnessed.